Boehner to GOP caucus: I’m not committed to moving forward on immigration

posted at 11:21 am on January 31, 2014 by Allahpundit

But if the public rollout of the document seemed like an announcement, the feeling inside the room was much more tentative. Speaker John Boehner, in particular, surprised many in the audience with his tepid words on behalf of moving forward.

“He seemed timid or reluctant to suggest that this was anything but a discusssion,” Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) told Breitbart News. “He even said, he made the statement—which I found surprising — that he is not commited to moving forward on any legislation. He wasn’t trying to sell us on this, I don’t think. He was saying the words but it didn’t seem to be coming from his heart.”

Baffling. He waffled last year on immigration reform, then finally mustered the courage to push it front and center this month — in an election year, no less — and now he’s waffling again. The fight to pass something will be wrenching, no matter when it happens and how solicitous Boehner’s language is. Essentially, he’s rolled a grenade into the Republican tent but left the pin in, leaving it up to the caucus to decide whether to pull it. If you’re going to use a grenade, full commitment is part of the deal, no?

Now, question: Would passing reform next year become impossible if the Republicans pick up seats in the midterms, as everyone expects? I argued yesterday that it’ll be harder because grassroots righties will expect a GOP-controlled Congress to produce a much tougher bill than they could reasonably expect to produce now. Matt Lewis counters that I’m missing the point — if the GOP takes back the Senate, grassroots righties will expect them to stay away from immigration entirely, reasoning that if inaction on the matter was no obstacle to a big win in the midterms, it’ll be no obstacle to a big win in 2016 either. True enough, some tea partiers would react that way. My sense, though, is that the rest of the GOP simply Will – Not – Tolerate another presidential election where the Republican nominee has nothing conciliatory to show Latino voters. It may be a myth that Romney lost in 2012 because he got walloped by Obama among that group, but it’s no myth that as the Latino population grows and turnout rates improve, a 72/27 Democratic advantage would be ruinous for the GOP long-term. The core question here has always been whether amnesty is the key to winning back some of those voters, either as a “magic bullet” (even McCain admits it won’t win any votes by itself) or as a sort of threshold issue on which the GOP needs to show compromise so that Latinos will give the rest of their agenda a fair look. Wherever you land on that subject, I think large numbers of centrist/establishment Republicans believe immigration reform is an absolute prerequisite to rebuilding goodwill with Latinos. And I think they’re secretly optimistic that passing amnesty would be a bit of a magic bullet with Latinos as soon as 2016, not enough to cut deeply into the Democratic advantage but maybe enough to trim five points, which could be crucial in a tight election.

So no, I don’t agree with Lewis that a redder Congress would mean doom for reform in 2015 as border hawks shift to an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to the GOP’s chances in 2016. We already have painful experience with the reality that midterm results and presidential results are very different creatures. No matter how well Republicans do this year, it won’t be as well as they did in 2010, and 2010 ended up being no impediment to an Obama landslide in 2012. Many, many more Democrats, especially minority Democrats, will be at the polls two and a half years from now to decide who wins the White House than will be at the polls this fall to decide who holds Congress. Even tea partiers who prefer the status quo on immigration should realize that. (Some do. Rand Paul, who’ll position himself as Mr. Tea Party in the election if Cruz doesn’t run, is himself open to forms of legalization if the border is secured.) And speaking of which, why would anyone want the status quo? At the very least, Boehner and McConnell should be expected to pass a serious border security measure next year, if only to dare Obama to veto it. If border security passes, though, Democrats’ new message will be that Republicans are actually becoming more hardline against illegal immigration at a time when polls show the public is willing to allow citizenship eventually for illegals who are already here. What do Boehner and McConnell do then? A limited DREAM-type amnesty? Full legalization contingent upon measurable improvements in border security? Tea partiers may howl, but tea partiers aren’t the whole party; other Republicans will be howling for different reasons. So this brings us back to yesterday’s question: If you’re going to tackle immigration and you know that you’ll have to include some type of legalization for at least some subgroup of illegals, when is/was the best time to do it? Early last year, when House GOPers who voted yes might face a primary this year because of it? Later this year, after the primaries have passed but before the all-important midterm election? Early next year, when they’ll have a redder Congress but might figure that Republican voters will forgive them by the time the 2016 election rolls around?

If a fight is inevitable, have it now rather than a much messier one in 2015. Maybe the Senate Democrats won’t be able to swallow a bill with tougher enforcement provisions and without a path to citizenship, and they will own part of the death of immigration reform. Or maybe they’ll pass it, and the issue will be partly cleared off the table for an election year. For an establishment Republican, that’s win-win…

What I am saying is that they [the GOP leadership] are closer to neutral about big [midterm] gains than we might think, given the problems that the surge in base enthusiasm caused for them after the 2010 elections. So if they check agenda items like this off the list now and still get a landslide, great. But if they end up cooling off the base’s enthusiasm and get a narrow, establishment-based Senate majority and keep the House, well, that’s not the end of the world either. In fact, it would mean a more docile caucus in both Houses, which is good for those who run those Houses.

If they pass amnesty this summer and Republican voters protest by staying home in November, fine. That means fewer tea partiers end up in Congress next year, which Boehner can live with. If they don’t pass it and Republican voters turn out in force, painting Congress red, that’s fine too. A bigger majority also has certain advantages. There are upsides and downsides to either outcome for Boehner so, he probably figures, why not make his move now?

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Baffling. He waffled last year on immigration reform, then finally mustered the courage to push it front and center this month — in an election year, no less — and now he’s waffling again. The fight to pass something will be wrenching, no matter when it happens and how solicitous Boehner’s language is. Essentially, he’s rolled a grenade into the Republican tent but left the pin in, leaving it up to the caucus to decide whether to pull it. If you’re going to use a grenade, full commitment is part of the deal, no?

See below what I posted earlier. I believe this has something to do with his sense of urgency:

Boehner is in between a rock and a hard place.

On Megan Kelly’s show last night there was a FOX political analyst who conveyed the following when Megan asked why the GOPe is pushing for amnesty now–FOLLOW THE MONEY:

1. Obama has threatened the GOP big business donors that if the GOP does not pass immigration reform then he (Obama) is going make these businesses pay for it through regulation, fines, etc.

2. The big businesses have in turn threatened the GOP with cutting off the large campaign contributions the GOP needs to fight the tea party challengers in the primaries. The GOPe NEEDS this big donor money because, as we all know, the base has stopped contributing to the RINOs.

3. The GOPe is now squeezing congressional members with scare tactics and threats as a way to get them to fall into line and pass amnesty. In fact, there was already an attempt at character assassination against anti-amnesty members when a southern congressional member told the press after the GOP summit that he felt that there was “racism” involved in some of the members not wanting to pass immigration reform. I don’t think his name has been revealed, but you can see how they are trying to split the caucus.

So, yeah, Boehner and the GOPe hates the tea party enough that they would rather throw the dice on the chance of winning some Latino votes than having to deal with real conservatives in the GOP who hold them accountable.

I will not be staying home for the election or sitting it out. I will be voting for Libertarian or Constitution or whatever party candidates who stand against Republicans (but not Democraps). I actually did a little of that last time and I expect to do a lot of it this time. I know a LOT of people (lifetime Rs) who hold the same attitude. In particular, I look forward to the next available opportunity to vote against John Cornyn… this is not a passing impulse on my part, the aggravation has been growing for a long time.

Not doing anything also has its risks – Obama will use executive action for fixes to the immigration system. Fixes that may be impossible to roll back down the line. For eg: Legalization of dreamers is now a certainty – no one has called for his executive action on this to be rolled back. I don’t see any 2016 candidates promising to repeal that executive order.

That executive order alone probably got him a few more percentage points in minority votes in 2012.

It is better to have a bill on our terms – with no amnesty and limited legalization for dreamers in exchange for and after verifiable border security, visa tracking, reform to legal immigration.

This will also allow us to fix legal immigration which is held hostage to amnesty – Legal immigrations needs to move to skills based from family based. The diversity visa which is used mainly by people from Mideast and North African countries also needs to be abolished. These fixes are more than a decade overdue – but they have been hostage to the issue of Amnesty. This is the reason Dems insist on a comprehensive bill – so they can tack on Amnesty to any other reforms..

rac·ism: poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race

The Democratic Party is demonstrably the most racist party in American politics. From their links to the Ku Klux Klan (Senator Robert Byrd ring any bells?) to Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society which destroyed millions of African-American families to the constantly divisive political behavior of Barack Obama, no other party has such a despicable record of treating every race but Caucasians as being LESS able to succeed.

The Progressives in the Democratic Party (~95%+ of the total) are so committed to their racist attitudes, they constantly preach that it is virtually impossible for non-whites to succeed in our society regardless of the many representatives of ALL races that give proof to their LIE.

The latest proof of Democratic infamy is their unlimited committment to “immigration reform” in order to lure millions of additional Latinos outside of America to enter the country and refresh the ranks of the “illegal immigrants” who will be paid substandard wages and denied the protections provided to legal immigrants.

If Democrats were truly committed to equal treatment regardless of race, color or creed; their FIRST priority would be securing the borders of the country BEFORE establishing a path to legal status for the millions of exploited illegal workers already in this country.

The Democrats know full well that their deceptive approach will only incentivize millions of additional illegal immigrants to make reckless efforts to enter the United States illegally while our borders are STILL not secured.

This “Next Wave of Illegals” will successfully compete for low paying jobs while waiting for the next cynical effort by “Progressive” politicians to realize their latest willful lack of enforcement of immigration laws has once again swelled the numbers of disadvantaged workers in our country.

The Democrats will ALWAYS say the most sympathetic lies to win the votes of these poor people trying to live the American Dream of building a better life for their families. Meanwhile, the “Next Wave” will insure those on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder will ALWAYS be competing against someone willing to accept less pay and benefits because they have escaped from countries where the most menial wage paid in America would be an unachievable dream.

It is time for Republicans to DEMAND America’s borders be secured for the economic and physical security of ALL of its residents.

At the same time, the Republicans must establish a reasonable schedule working with the front line Immigration personnel and their unions for the implementation of a process of review of the millions of people who have improperly entered the United States and the deportation of those among this group who are criminals in their home countries or who have engaged in criminal enterprises in this country.

If there is one irrefutable fact learned from the history of this country of immigrants, it is that criminal organizations within immigrant populations primarily prey upon their fellow immigrants.

When we have secured our borders and demonstrably deported the criminals among the immigrant populations, we will then be able to integrate the remaining illegal immigrants fully into our economy and culture.

You are ignorant and want to rationalize being lazy. Do you think trotting out Ayn Rand as ass backwards justification for empowering the very things you supposedly oppose somehow makes it smart? Nope.
Neither the GOP or the Democrats care if you stay at home and do nothing to effectively make your voice heard. The democrats will take it as a win and the GOP will just move more left as they write off perpetually unreliable voters. You are cutting your own throat and there is nothing smart about it. Your inaction guarantees amnesty and all the other things you like to complain about.
Maybe you just like to complain.

the republican need to learn you don’t win by staying home, even if the candidate is not what you want, the key is to vote, there are a couple of ducks and a mouse you could write in on the ballot to get their attention.

LOL, click on my username and watch him for himself, do you think he would have any time for people who justify doing nothing in the face of an existential threat to the country? Not only are you a bad conservative you aren’t a good American.

I fight in my own way and God help all the commies/sozis.

Sitting on the couch and whining isn’t fighting.

It is better to keep quiet than to let others know how ignorant you are.

So shut up.

You scum called me “lazy”, based on hot air.

Based on what you have written, yes, you are trying and failing to rationalize being lazy. When there is a threat to the country you fight it, THAT MEANS DOING SOMETHING. Not enlisting everyone to just roll over and take it. Shame on you.

LOL, Yes you do if you believe that he would think it was a great idea for you to just roll over in the face of the socialists. Americans fight for our country. Reagan knew that. (But it’s harder than complaining here and staying on the couch, huh?)

If you’re not a troll you are one of the most obtuse Rs on HA.

I’m watching you people make yourselves irrelevant, you have been screwed with and sold a raft of BS. Amazingly, you have come to the conclusion that doing nothing will somehow get you political power or influence in the country. IT’S STUPID!

Rebutt what I said, convince me that rolling over and letting Nancy Pelosi have her way with the country is patriotic. Until then you might want to reevaluate the idea of doing nothing to prevent what’s happening. At least you might not be so smug about making yourself irrelevant.

Staying at home one election day = doing nothing. Not ringing their phone off the wall today and next week = doing nothing. Not sending e-mails and letters = doing nothing. Justifying it with Ayn Rand = stupid. You aren’t John Galt, get over yourself and get in the game.

Staying at home one election day = doing nothing. Not ringing their phone off the wall today and next week = doing nothing. Not sending e-mails and letters = doing nothing. Justifying it with Ayn Rand = stupid. You aren’t John Galt, get over yourself and get in the game.

V7_Sport on January 31, 2014 at 2:45 PM

How stupid are you really? All those can be done, with incredible ease.

To assume otherwise, and especially to assume that you are a better American than others, is smug, in the least, and very stupid.

You accuse others of what you are.

Meanwhile, you wasted a lot of time, as you claim. The irony escapes you.

The same thing is “not doing anything because you didn’t get everything you wanted handed to you by everyone else”. This isn’t Romney’s fault. Your perpetual tantrum is jet going to ensure that you are ignored.

The Latinos will never vote for you,

I know this. Get on the phone to your congressman and tell him to stop this latest push for amnesty. Work the system instead of leaving it and patting yourself on the back for it. What’s so hard to get about that? If the left can do it what can’t the likes of you?
Work used to be the corner stone of conservatism. The sad fact is, the left has out worked us. This is nothing to be proud of, Schadenfreude.

I know this. Get on the phone to your congressman and tell him to stop this latest push for amnesty. Work the system instead of leaving it and patting yourself on the back for it. What’s so hard to get about that? If the left can do it what can’t the likes of you?
Work used to be the corner stone of conservatism. The sad fact is, the left has out worked us. This is nothing to be proud of, Schadenfreude.

V7_Sport on January 31, 2014 at 2:52 PM

I work “the system”, or rather against it, daily. I hurt them daily more than you’ll ever know. My entire focus is on destroying the thugs, from both sides, and preparing for an eventual failure of such…but it will not fail because I didn’t fight.

The left has not “outworked” anyone. They just fight for their Utopian thuggeries and the RINOs enable them. Hence, I hate the RINOs more, something you can Never take away from me.

I’m not your enemy, if you’re not a troll, au contraire. If you’re a conservative or TEA partier, the RINOs and the Ds are your enemies.

How stupid are you really? All those can be done, with incredible ease.

Get ion it. Pass the word, if we are going to stop this we need to grab them by the lapels and shake until they hear us..

To assume otherwise, and especially to assume that you are a better American than others, is smug, in the least, and very stupid.

I’ve seen it first hand. I observed the opposition running circles around us on election day while I was trying to get out the GOP vote. The people who brag about doing nothing are just ensuring they get nothing.

You accuse others of what you are.

I sent off about 15 e-mails today and made 4 calls. About the same yesterday. I’ll be going down the switchboard on monday, everyone should.

Meanwhile, you wasted a lot of time,

Are you a waste of time? Should you just be ignored? Apparently that’s what you are after.

Pat Buchanan warns that an imminent Republican debate over immigration will play into the hands of the Democratic party… By pivoting to the issue of immigration, Republicans are “walking right into the trap.”

“You will have a war inside the Republican party — a Balkan war — this year, which will knock it off its present gain,” he said…

“It’s probably or almost certainly true that the Chamber of Commerce and the big-business folks want the immigration deal solved,” he added, but called on opponents of an amnesty measure to “rise up and stop it” before the push advances.

I disagree with the notion that immigration reform is a central issue for Latinos. I think ObamaCare will be a much stronger issue for them, along with jobs and the economy.

The GOP should hold firm on refusing to pass anything other than enforcement measures on immigration.

When 2016 rolls around, the GOP will win on ObamaCare, jobs, and the economy.

When we have a Republican president, one that understands the value of the rule of law and citizenship, we can discuss extending amnesty to those truly brought here as young children and the spouses of US service personnel. No other group should be granted any form of amnesty.

We should implement mandatory nationwide E-verify, end automatic birthright citizenship for the children of foreign nationals unless one parent is a citizen or a legal permanent resident, end the practice of advertising and encouraging enrollment for US benefits like the SNAP (foodstamps)program in Mexico, and reduce legal immigration by half until we have achieved an unemployment rate below 5% consistently. All work visas should be for higher skilled jobs, such as the tech industry, engineers, doctors, scientists, etc. in order to encourage those in this nation on welfare to return to the job market and seek gainful employment and take those lower skilled jobs, and we should reduce and limit welfare benefits in this nation to ensure that they are not as rewarding as full time employment.

I suggested giving amnesty to those who were truly brought here as children as a means of “giving something to the Latino voters” as suggested in the original article.

Personally, I believe that if those ‘DREAMer’s’ have reached the age of majority, 18 years of age, and have failed to apply for legal status in their own right, they’ve willfully broken the law just as their parents did before them and should be sent back to their nation of origin.

I think that if they chose not to apply for legal status they’ve established their intent to remain in this nation illegally, and demonstrated a clear disregard for the rule of law and disdain for the rights of the citizens and legal immigrants of this nation.

However, if any group is going to be granted an amnesty, the spouses of US service personnel and those who were really brought to this nation as very young children ( under 10 years of age) would be the only groups I’d consider.

“Our” side needs to get organized and take it to our representatives, not justify staying home on election day and deliberately losing elections because that’s a smart strategy for gaining influence.
It’s a perennial gripe, I’ll admit.

Sean Trende is so baffled by the immigration push from House leadership that he actually is left to advance the theory that they’re afraid of too big of a landslide in 2014, bringing as it would all sorts of uncouth Tea Party types into Congress, that they’ve decided to even the board a bit and give the Democrats a win,

I suggested giving amnesty to those who were truly brought here as children as a means of “giving something to the Latino voters” as suggested in the original article.

Personally, I believe that if those ‘DREAMer’s’ have reached the age of majority, 18 years of age, and have failed to apply for legal status in their own right, they’ve willfully broken the law just as their parents did before them and should be sent back to their nation of origin.

I think that if they chose not to apply for legal status they’ve established their intent to remain in this nation illegally, and demonstrated a clear disregard for the rule of law and disdain for the rights of the citizens and legal immigrants of this nation.

However, if any group is going to be granted an amnesty, the spouses of US service personnel and those who were really brought to this nation as very young children ( under 10 years of age) would be the only groups I’d consider.

thatsafactjack on January 31, 2014 at 3:11 PM

So, the fact that many, and probably most of them, lived on public dole for years is no issue to you? If a USA citizen does not file tax returns for years, what happens? What about free medicine (via emergency rooms that we all end up paying for)? Free education? Food stamps, Section 8, etc.? All of that should be forgiven?

I’m asking only because I am one of tens of millions who did come here legally, via filing all the proper paperwork prior to ever setting foot on American soil, as required by USA Immigration Laws? You don’t think its a huge slap in the face to all of us that simply says, YOU ARE IDIOTS! Ignore the law, just cross the border.

If they pass amnesty this summer and Republican voters protest by staying home in November, fine. That means fewer tea partiers end up in Congress next year, which Boehner can live with. If they don’t pass it and Republican voters turn out in force, painting Congress red, that’s fine too. A bigger majority also has certain advantages. There are upsides and downsides to either outcome for Boehner so, he probably figures, why not make his move now?

Huh? I think you have that backwards.. “that means fewer tea partiers end up in congress next year”. I would expect fewer REPUBLICANS.

I know that no one can read every thread, but I’ve made my views known consistently here on HA for some time.

I’ve posted many, many times regarding my belief that we should uphold the rule of law.

We are a nation of laws. Those laws must be enforced equitably, without preference or prejudice.

I’ve also made the case that illegal aliens and those who support them are spitting in the face of legal immigrants and citizens with their demands for preferential treatment under the law many times over.

I also maintain that immigration laws were designed, drafted, and passed for the protection of US citizens and legal immigrants from predation by illegal aliens, not to serve the interests of illegal aliens.

In the post you responded to, I was essentially responding to the questions Allahpundit posed in his posts heading this thread.

I would like to believe that the thousands of calls, emails, tweets might have slowed Boehner’s suicide roll.
But, in reality, he probably put his gelatinous spine in backwards this morning.
And, that southern GOP source that said race is part of is a factor sits on the lap of John McCain. Call me a racist for wanting the rule of law upheld. Do it. It’s become a badge of honor.

I want Boehner, Ryan, Cantor and the rest of weasels in the House to face me and millions of others, and tell us, to our faces, why is it that they are insulting not only those who abided by USA LAW, but the USA LAW itself.

Why wasn’t there at least one news media outlet, so called “fair and balanced” FOX included, that has never yet assembled a group of us to discuss immigration, as it applies to USA LAW? I emailed Fox News a number of times, offered to pay my way to NY if need be, to provide our point of view. Not even a response of any kind.

I emailed and publicly posted my thoughts on the subject to Paul Ryan with similar offer, to meet him face to face, at a place of his choosing. Not even a response, either.

They are all on a take, with their “retirement plans” greatly “subsidized” as we speak, by Chamber of Commerce, unions and other cheap labor agitators. Slavery, actually.

Ask illegals themselves if they want any of this. Many of them do not. They will have to pay taxes, fees, etc. And they do realize that same way they are used to replace better paid workers now, once amnesty passes it will be their turn to be replaced by an even cheaper labor force.

MTF on January 31, 2014 at 3:44 PM
What is really amazing, is that the GOP leadership was warned about this reaction from the caucus. Not just a few, as Allah implies, but over 2/3 of the house GOP. No wonder he is dancing away from this as fast as he can.

You must be a democrat. Telling Republicans to stay home an NOT vote in November. Give Pelosi back the gavel and allow Obama 2 full years to finish his agenda. What are u smoking?

If we lose in November, there will NEVER be another Republican house leadership for a 100 years.

Redford on January 31, 2014 at 3:56 PM

*yawn*

Whatever. You just keep telling yourself that the GOP deserves your vote after bending conservatives over at the waist and reaming them repeatedly right up to election, then insisting conservatives vote for the GOP. Keep being that battered wife if you wish.

I’ll vote for them again when they earn it for awhile – not because of what they say, as that has been nothing but lies for long enough now – but by their *actions*. Never again voting for whatever shit on a stick the GOP decides to wave around simply because they’re not Democrats and are marginally better – *sometimes* – than Democrats. More often than not, almost all of the time, the GOP are simply complicit in whatever shenanigans and country-destroying activities the Dems are trying to foist on everyone.

First, there is no such thing as permanent border security without something permanent like a fence.

Second, I don’t care if Boehner gives up his career for this issue. I will not vote for ANY Republican in both 2014 and 2016 if legalization passes. I will blame the entire party, not just those who vote for it.

Thirdly, the Hispanic vote is only increasing 1% every four years when it comes to Presidential elections. It was I think 10% in 2012. And a huge percentage of that 10% is in California and Texas, two states that are not in play and will not be in play in the next 20 years. The rest of the countries states average maybe 6-7% Hispanic voters.

The only way these numbers become particularly impactful is if we give citizenship to the 20-30 million illegals, nearly doubling the Hispanic vote. Let me add these illegal Hispanics are not Cuban and are younger and poorer then the citizen Hispanics already voting. There is one thing worse then losing 10 million votes 70-30%. That’s losing 20 million votes 80-20%. That is what legalization will eventually bring.

The vehemence with which you keep calling me names points to your own awareness of your guilt.

What name did I call you? Liar? It’s only because you have lied.

I asked no one else to get involved.

Congratulations, how is it that you consider yourself involved in that conversation? I mean other than mischaracterizing it? As a hanger on?

However, it is interesting that you admit that management already contacted you

Indeed, I’m actually starting to warm up to the Steelers now that I’m not afraid to try and pronounce “Roethlisberger”… Next season folks, you heard it here.

regarding the incident.

“Incident”! Bless your heart.

Imagine for a minute that there was an epidemic of fire-ants. You hate fire ants. Really, you spend a lot of your day dumping gas down there nests and lighting them up. Then one day a blog is created, the “Fire ants are no damn good blog” and you say “Yay, lets go talk about napalming fire ants”. All was right in the world and the fire ants were dying.
Then, inexplicably, the idea that the best way to get rid of fire ants was to go sit on their nest became a popular idea on the “Fire ants are no damn good blog”, Some bright bulbs decided that the best way to get rid of the fire ants were not only to just let them swarm wildly, but to actively encourage them to breed. Just turn over everything to them and “let it burn”, let the country become kingdom of the ants.
You might take issue with this, as you only have so much gas and napalm and the ants are going wild, but when you go to the “Fire ants are no damn good blog” you get called a fool by the ant breeders. “Let them eat everything, that way, when all their food is gone they will starve” the ant breeders say. When you remind them that YOU are food they call you a RINO and go back to complaining that you aren’t doing enough with your napalm to get rid of the ants they are helping to breed and feed.
What’s the solution? Become food? Pretend that they have a solid position and that you respect it but it’s time to break out the napalm because here comes 12-15 million new fire ants that somehow learned to swim?
We have real problems, huge ones, ignoring them or, amazingly, actively enabling them isn’t going to help make them go away. If you want to call me a SOB you are going to have to take a number, (thankfully I can get by without your approval) but that wont change the facts. We are going to have to make ourselves heard on this, if we don’t we only have ourselves to blame.

You must be a democrat. Telling Republicans to stay home an NOT vote in November. Give Pelosi back the gavel and allow Obama 2 full years to finish his agenda. What are u smoking?

Redford on January 31, 2014 at 3:56 PM

Whatever. You just keep telling yourself that the GOP deserves your vote after {insert crass hyperbole here]
Midas on January 31, 2014 at 4:40 PM

Funny, Midas heard “You must be a democrat. Telling Republicans to stay home an NOT vote in November” and answered it.
Yes Redford, they go back to daily kos and laugh at how they roll the right into not voting.

It’s like Ossie Davis describing the exotic dancer: “First she’d show a little leg – then she’d take a little back.”

My reaction (up until the breathless announcement here and elsewhere in the last couple of days) has always been that Boehner is playing a bluff hand. He doesn’t give a rat’s patootie about immigration reform, never has, but there are significant Party backers who do, and Democrats are ready to pounce on a “War on Latinos” if they can. Holding out the possiblity of action in the House mutes much of the criticism.

It’s harder to attack someone for not shoveling the driveway if they are standing at the driveway with a shovel, even if they aren’t actually shoveling.

It turned out I was right in 2011 and 2012 when my friends on the lunatic fringe accused Boehner of “caving on amnesty” then, too.

The process ended in a series of secret meetings between a top State Department official and a confidant of President Fidel Castro in a New York bar and a Toronto hotel — meetings that culminated in a deal, announced on May 2, that the Administration called a breakthrough and that many Cuban-Americans have called a betrayal.

The second prong was an even more stunning reversal: Cubans picked up at sea would be returned to their Communist-ruled island, scrapping the 35-year-old policy against sending intercepted boat people back to Cuba.

It was the biggest crisis of Bill Clinton’s first term and the most violent of his career:

Hundreds of angry Cuban refugees, breaking out of Arkansas’s sprawling Fort Chaffee army reservation in 1980, attacked state police and National Guardsmen with broken pieces of sidewalk and even live snakes before being driven back inside by batons and buckshot, where full-scale rioting and burning ensued.

Vastly outnumbered police, meanwhile, kept a worried watch on an inflamed local populace ready to defend family and property with all the guns and ammunition at hand.

Mr. Clinton went to the scene by helicopter, got briefed, backed the use by the state police of deadly force and authorized additional manpower. He demanded more military assistance from the White House

But if the public roll-out of the document seemed like an announcement, the feeling inside the room was much more tentative. Speaker John Boehner, in particular, surprised many in the audience with his tepid words on behalf of moving forward.

“He seemed timid or reluctant to suggest that this was anything but a discusssion,”Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) told Breitbart News. “He even said, he made the statement—which I found surprising — that he is not committed to moving forward on any legislation. He wasn’t trying to sell us on this, I don’t think. He was saying the words but it didn’t seem to be coming from his heart.”
.Jonathan Strong, Breitbart.com on January 30, 2014

Just to be clear, my own congressmen are already holding the line against any amnesty so I’ve been emailing and phoning other key congressmen in order to apply pressure where it might do the most good.

I’ve also been emailing and phoning Boehner and Priebus every day.

I encourage all of you who have yet to do so to take a few minutes out of cruising the internet to do so.

Now, question: Would passing reform next year become impossible if the Republicans pick up seats in the midterms, as everyone expects? I argued yesterday that it’ll be harder because grassroots righties will expect a GOP-controlled Congress to produce a much tougher bill than they could reasonably expect to produce now.

Giving myself away, here, but I hadn’t thought of that. What a bonus! If the RINO jerk-offs who run the GOP fail to pass an amnesty bill, they’re going to have another 25 serious conservatives to deal with.

And I think they’re secretly optimistic that passing amnesty would be a bit of a magic bullet with Latinos as soon as 2016, not enough to cut deeply into the Democratic advantage but maybe enough to trim five points, which could be crucial in a tight election.

My reaction (up until the breathless announcement here and elsewhere in the last couple of days) has always been that Boehner is playing a bluff hand.

Adjoran on January 31, 2014 at 5:14 PM

Kinda like he played on all the debt ceiling increases and the other times he folded to Obama? Successfully playing a bluff hand requires intelligence, cunning and courage – none of which the Speaker has. Who you think will win the Super Bowl Sunday Adjoran – the Lions or the Browns?

The real battle should be to replace this ineffective batch of Amnesty shills in the House leadership with some new leaders who actually represent the Republican base. It’s had to imagine a worse House Majority Leader than Amnesty Eric Cantor.

Bury immigration this year. Retake the Senate. Pass a border security bill(a real one, not a symbolical one) next year. Send it to Obama’s desk. He inevitably vetoes it. Then run on that in 2016. What is Hillary(or any other Democrat) going to say? They won’t agree to secure the border unless legalization and/or citizenship is included? Think that’ll go over well with anyone but diehard Democrat loyalists? Yeah, me neither.

Doughboy on January 31, 2014 at 11:25 AM

This I think is right, on two counts. First, it forces Republicans who say they are “security first” to ante up. I don’t think Rubio or Ryan is serious about security first, but this is one way to back them into a corner. And I would dearly love to see McCain have to vote on a real fence.

Second, you treat it just like Republicans treated welfare reform under Gingrich…make the SOB veto it three or four times…get that lying, gutless HRC on record as to whether she supports it…

And you say this: “They wouldn’t protect Americans in Benghazi; how long before they start protecting Americans in their own homes.”